


Planet Fall

by SamaJet



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Gen, I decided to write it!, Mystery, Spoiler!Character appearance, as thirteen hasn't had hers yet, maybe it's the episode that never was, maybe this is a big finish audio, that episode in the run where the doctor only has a cameo, that's this story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23173606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamaJet/pseuds/SamaJet
Summary: Aysha Kala is the most ordinary of ordinary 20-somethings, working a part-time job she hates, ignoring her bills and fighting a draining battle with depression. Until a long-range teleport grabs hold of her ankle and drops her (literally) on a different planet. The only way home is forward and so Aysha begins her long walk to an unknown destination, in the company of a mysterious (and dying) traveller. The traveller says she's looking for a doctor. But there doesn't seem to be anyone to left.
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This entire fic is written in a spec screenplay format! I've only ever dabbled in script/screenplay writing, so once I had the idea for this little story, I thought what better chance to flex those muscles and have a practise. I'll be posting the script in acts depending on the natural breaks in the story, but the whole thing in its entirety can be considered 1 full Doctor Who episode. 
> 
> Kudos & Comments would be loved and adored! This is the first fanfic I have written in over a literal decade, I can only thank the new DW era for awakening the spark once again. I can't wait for you to read my work & I really hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Over to Aysha...

FADE IN:

INT. RETAIL STORE **—** DAY

A long queue has formed at the cashiers. Focus in on **AYSHA, late-20s, tired face, in uniform**. An unnaturally bright smile is fixed to her face as she greets every customer.

AYSHA

Thank you, have a nice day. Have a great day! Have an amazing day. Have a good day! Thank you, have a great day. Have a great evening!

CUT TO:

INT. EMPLOYEE LOCKERS – NIGHT

Aysha’s smile has become a blank stare in her reflection. Her colleagues chatter in the background as they leave ahead of her. Pulls a bottle of pills from her bag, swallows one, heads out.

CUT TO:

EXT. BUSY STREET – NIGHT

Whilst walking, Aysha comes to a sudden pause, peering into the alleyway beside her, sensing something. Continues on with a shake of her head.

CUT TO:

INT. TINY FLAT KITCHEN – NIGHT

Dirty dishes piled high, empty microwave meal packets on the surface. Aysha leans with her back to the counter, running a tired hand across her face as the microwave whirrs behind her. CAMERA PANS over the fridge door as she passes, highlighting a talk for “Women in STEM”, a torn brochure page for a university Biochemistry course, a ticket stub for a visit to “CERN”. Aysha settles on a sofa heavy with clothes, surrounded by clutter and begins to idly flick through tv channels, pausing temporarily on the news. The **NEWSCASTER** is talking about a building storm.

NEWSCASTER

Storm Mia has already caused major flooding in areas of the midlands. The government has issued a yellow warning in places of high risk and advises against travel unless completely necessary. Worse flooding is expected in the upcoming-

AYSHA

_(muttering)_ Couldn’t flood me too could you?

A loud crash sounds from outside and Aysha’s head whips around, frowning through her kitchen’s darkened windows into the dark. For a moment it seems she’ll ignore it and return to flicking through channels, before another, louder bang is heard. Aysha springs to her feet, phone in one hand, grabbing for an umbrella leaning against the corridor wall in her other.

PAN TO:

EXT. BACK GARDEN – NIGHT

Aysha inches towards the back door, unlocking it and peering into the dark. Her back garden is tiny, just a concrete slab, closed in by a tall wall and fenced door, kept shut by a rusty lock.

AYSHA

Hello? Is anyone there?

She sweeps the plot with the flashlight of her phone, jumps as something makes a sound just outside the garden wall.

AYSHA

Ignore it, just ignore it.

Steps out into the night, shivering a little. She’s still wearing her shoes and jacket.

AYSHA

Why are you moving towards it? _(looks crossly at her feet)_ Other way, Aysha, other way… _(looks back to the wall)_ But if someone’s hurt… I thought depression was meant to make you selfish. Figures, I can’t even do depression right.

Aysha crosses the small garden in a few strides. The lock takes a few tries before it pulls open and she inches the door open slowly, wincing as the old wood creaks. She shoulders it open all the way with a frown when she realises the thin alleyway running behind the gardens is completely deserted. She casts her phone’s light one way then the other but, nothing.

AYSHA

_(uncertain)_ Hello?

She tightens her grip on the umbrella and takes another step. There’s not even anything here that an animal could have knocked over. Unsettled, she takes a single step and yelps in shock as an invisible force pulls her feet out from under her.


	2. Act 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aysha, I've a feeling we're not in London anymore...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Kudos/Comment/Bookmark! It makes and means the world of difference to me!

CUT TO:

EXT. UNKNOWN GRASSY LAND – NIGHT

Close up on Aysha has she blinks into consciousness, following her line of sight as she slowly climbs to her feet on a grassy plain, unable to see much beyond in the dark. Confusion mixed with fear is clear in her body as she quickly grabs up her fallen phone and umbrella, gripping the latter overhanded like a bat.

AYSHA

Have I… officially gone mad? Smells real though. _(shivers from the cold)_ Feels real. I should… God… okay, calm down. Just call the police. Easy.

Her phone blinks blankly at her: no reception. No signal of any kind.

AYSHA

Or… not. That’s fine. This is fine. Come on, just keep walking. England’s not a big place. Wherever I’ve ended up, I’ll come across something eventually. I’ve got to.

Movement! There in the corner of her eye. She whirls and in the distance sees a flickering pinpoint of light. A fire? Could be dangerous. Doesn’t matter, it’s better than nothing. She begins to walk, then stride, then sprint towards it. But as the light source grows, she comes to a sudden halt, out of breath from the run and staring in growing horror. There’s just… carnage. The light was fire. Fire still burning in some of the shells that might once have been buildings. It looks like some small village might have stood here once. Now nothing does.

AYSHA

What on earth… He-hello? Is anyone- is anyone here? Please tell me there’s someone here, alive… come on.

FEMALE VOICE [O.C]

Your wish is my command.

Aysha has walked further into the ruins and whirls now to follow the voice, finding a woman slouched against rubble on the ground, one hand around her middle. This is **RO, 40s, beautiful but unkempt, streaked with dirt**.

AYSHA

Who are you? _(beat)_ Where am I? What happened here? What’s going on?

The questions all fall out in a rush. Aysha’s just relieved to no longer be alone. Ro winces a little but manages a smile.

RO

Well, you weren’t who I was aiming for, but someone is better than no-one.

AYSHA

What do you mean, aiming for?

RO

What’s your name?

AYSHA

Aysha… Aysha Kala.

RO

Will you help me, Aysha Kala? You see, there’s somewhere I need to go. But I don’t think I’ll be able to make it on my own.

AYSHA

I don’t even know what’s going on. I don’t understand what’s happening, who are you? What am I doing here?

RO

I’m sorry. It’s okay, keep calm. I’m sorry about this.

AYSHA

Stop apologising and explain this to me so I can understand!

RO

You can call me Ro. I used this _(kicks an odd-looking object by her feet)_ to wrangle up a long-range teleport. I was hoping for a doctor. I’m injured, see?

Ro moves aside the arm she’s had wrapped about her middle to reveal a bandaged torso beneath a tattered tunic.

RO

But this bit of junk is long past good use. One try left and I could only aim for a general area. It picks up lifeforms, any lifeforms. I’m lucky to have got you Aysha. I could have ended up with a cat. Or a bug.

AYSHA

When you say teleport…

RO

Yes… you’re not at home anymore.

AYSHA

But teleports aren't a real thing. They don't actually exist.

RO

One moment you were somewhere else and now you’re here. How else would you explain it?

AYSHA

This is all just some sort of elaborate… trick. Or I’ve finally gone mad. Properly mad.

RO

No tricks here, no illusions. Look around you, this is real. I realise this may be a lot. But the quicker you accept this is real and happening, the easier it will be to process it and to move on.

AYSHA

This is... it's real? Oh my god… it really is isn’t it? And it’s happening to me. But then, where am I? Where have you brought me? Judging by all these fields and the village… Is this the south-west? Am I in the south-west?

RO

…Sure… you’re not far off.

AYSHA

But what happened here? I mean, your village has been totally destroyed. Where are the police? Or the fire department or anyone? If you need doctors, surely there must be some somewhere!

RO

There’s no-one. There’s no-one… just me.

Ro winces suddenly and Aysha rushes forward, hovering awkwardly in a crouch in front of her.

AYSHA

I know first aid. Got a certificate and everything. Maybe I can help?

RO

Not this. The injuries are internal, a problem that would need surgery to fix. Not something I can heal from. Just my luck eh?

AYSHA

If you can’t heal from it, you’ll die.

RO

Inevitably. It doesn’t matter, that isn’t important.

AYSHA

You’re dying! How is that not important?

RO

Because there’s somewhere I need to get to before I die. No transport, broken teleport. I’ll have to walk all the way and I won’t make it on my own. I know you don’t know me, Aysha. You don’t know what all this is and I so rudely pulled you away from your life. But will you grant this dying woman’s last wish? Will you help me?

AYSHA

I… I can’t I, I can’t even help myself.

RO

Well then. Why don’t help each other? You keep me walking and I’ll keep you talking. I’ve seen a lot of amazing, mad things in my life. Maybe now at the end of it, telling you about it will help you too.

AYSHA

What kind of things?

RO

Impossible things.

AYSHA

Really?

RO

Truly.

The two women consider one another, Ro seated, Aysha crouched as around them the wind blows, and the fires slowly begin to peter out. Aysha is dwelling upon where she’s come from – the boring job, the cluttered home, the meaninglessness to it all – and where she is now, somewhere strange but that has got her heart beating. Finally, she comes to a decision.

AYSHA

Okay. Somewhere to go. Let’s get started.


	3. Act 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And where is here is exactly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please consider leaving kudos/comments/bookmarking my work! It would mean the absolute world to me!

RO

Take my bag, there’s a solar-torch in there. _(looks up at the black sky)_ If these clouds clear we won’t need it, but it doesn’t seem like that will be happening anytime soon so, it’ll make do.

Aysha pulls out a thin metal contraption that she needs to shake before one end catches light, pulsing out a strong and steady beam into the dark: somehow like a torch and yet very much not, and slings the messenger-style bag across her shoulder. She carefully helps Ro to her feet, who shrugs on a flowing jacket.

RO

Follow me then, this way.

AYSHA

How do you know? I can’t see anything, no signs or road or anything.

RO

I just know. _(tapping her temple)_ Call it a homing beacon.

The pair begin their journey through the tall grassland, walking side-by-side as Ro navigates whilst Aysha keeps the light focused ahead. Ro keeps her gaze on the horizon, but Aysha keeps looking about, at the ground below and sky above, runs her fingers through the grass and once, sniffs at the cool air.

AYSHA

It’s so silent here… like we’re the only two people in the whole world. I can’t even hear any insects.

RO

If they were smart they flew away. If they were unlucky they burnt with everything else.

Tell me about yourself Aysha Kala.

AYSHA

There’s not much to tell.

RO

Come now, we have quite a few hours of walking ahead of us. We need to pass the time somehow. Tell me who you are.

AYSHA

I’m no-one. Just Aysha.

RO

Just Aysha. I see. No family? No work? No dreams?

AYSHA

I work in a shop. That’s all I do really. I work, I come home, I wake up, I go to work. My family is just fine. And I don’t really have time for dreams.

RO

I had a teacher once who used to say that a lack of dreams meant a lack of living.

AYSHA

Well I’m living just fine.

RO

Hmm. If there are no dreams, what do you enjoy?

AYSHA

_(snappishly)_ Not being interrogated.

RO

I was hardly asking you for your secrets. You’re very closed off aren’t you?

Aysha comes to a sudden halt and faces her new companion.

AYSHA

Why was your village burning Ro? Why are you injured?

RO

Something terrible happened.

AYSHA

Yes, but what?

RO

Ah, I see what you’re doing. You might be more than you seem, Aysha Kala.

AYSHA

Funny, I was going to say the same thing. Are you leading me into a trap? Is that what this is, some sort of prolonged kidnapping? Are you going to experiment on me?

RO

_(laughing)_ Why on earth would I experiment on you?

AYSHA

Because we’re not in south-east England are we? When you said long-range teleport… you didn’t mean a few miles. You meant a few galaxies.

RO

That is quite the conclusion you’ve jumped to.

AYSHA

Not an unreasonable one. I don’t know how to explain it, but this place, it doesn’t feel like my planet. This air that I’m breathing feels like new air. The grass doesn’t feel like how grass should. (she directs a beam of light onto a patch of it) And I’m sure the grass on English fields doesn’t grow red. Even the gravity feels different. Not by much, barely anything really but the more we walk the more I notice it. The barest change in newtons. I’m not on earth anymore, am I?

RO

No. You aren’t.

AYSHA

Great, I was hoping you’d call me crazy… Man, I’m on a different planet. But I’m breathing, so there’s oxygen here. A different planet with oxygen.

RO

You’d be surprised how many lifeforms require it throughout the universe. Though the chemical makeup of our air is a little different to Earth’s. That’s probably why it tastes different, though it’s impressive you could pick up on that.

AYSHA

Why didn’t you tell me? You just let me assume…

RO

You seemed perturbed enough about being teleported. I thought the truth might make you panic.

AYSHA

Don’t you think I would have found out eventually?

RO

Of course, but I was hoping to ease you into it.

AYSHA

How do you ease anyone into something like that?

RO

With a lot of skill and a lot of cleverness.

AYSHA

You were never going to tell me were you? You were always planning on waiting until I figured it out on my own.

RO

In my defence, at some point the truth was going to become rather blindingly obvious. You just figured it out a little earlier is all. You’re smarter than you look you know.

Aysha’s lips curl somewhere between taking offence and exasperation.

AYSHA

Thanks… I think. What happens to me now? You teleported me here, but your teleport is broken. How will I get home?

RO

Don’t worry Aysha Kala. I’ll get you home. I promise.

Aysha accepts the promise, trusting her perhaps only because she has no other choice than because she feels reassured. As they fall into step again, the human looks around her with renewed vigour, sweeping the beam of her light in as wide an arc as she can, but the night presses in around them, frustratingly dark.

AYSHA

If we’re on an alien planet, doesn’t that make you an alien?

RO

Technically as this is my planet, you are the alien here.

AYSHA

_(disbelieving laughter)_ You’re right! I’m the alien! Wait but then, you’re an alien that speaks English? A… human-looking alien that speaks English.

RO

I don’t look human. You look like me.

AYSHA

And who exactly is that?

Ro looks at her with closed-off eyes, as if that’s not a question she’s eager to answer, but something beyond Aysha’s vision catches her eye. A blur in the distance. A fast-moving blur.

RO

Run.

AYSHA

Huh? What?

RO

Don’t ask questions. Just run!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What secrets does this traveller hold? Where exactly has Aysha found herself? Got any thoughts or guesses? Let me know!


	4. Act 4

New Scene Arriving 24/03/20! (UK date order). Be sure to bookmark my story so you never miss an update! ^^

**Author's Note:**

> P.S. Hey Big Finish & DW, I am totally ready to be hired, let's do this thing.  
> P.P.S If you've read ahead, please don't spoil future plot developments in prior "chapters"!


End file.
